Four new reports offer concrete policy recommendations for future cooperation on trade, monetary policy, digital currencies and economic statecraft

FRANKFURT – SEPTEMBER 28, 2022 — The Atlantic Council’s GeoEconomics Center and Atlantik-Brücke today released four groundbreaking reports  mapping out the future of the US-European economic relationship. New research in the areas of trade, monetary policy, digital currencies and economic statecraft identify numerous recommendations for closer partnership and offer opportunities to bolster transatlantic leadership in preparing for the economy of the future.

The findings will be launched at a flagship conference in Frankfurt, Germany on Wednesday, September 28. Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank, will participate in a keynote fireside chat to open the conference with Maria Demertzis, deputy director of Bruegel. Additional speakers include Daleep Singh, former White House Deputy National Security Advisor; Paolo Gentiloni, Commissioner for Economy at the European Commission; and Brent Neiman, Counselor at the US Treasury Department.

“The war in Ukraine and the united G7 response has reminded the world of the power of transatlantic economic cooperation,” said Josh Lipsky, senior director of the Atlantic Council’s GeoEconomics Center. “As we bring together policymakers in Frankfurt, this will be a key opportunity to build on this unity and address the challenges that will define the US-Europe economic partnership for the decade ahead.”

Julia Friedlander, CEO of Atlantik-Brücke, said, “We are living in a global security environment where economics, finance and regulation have become the key factors in the balance of power between nations. How the US and EU cooperate today on trade, sanctions, and governance of their currencies may determine the influence they have in the future.”

In partnership with CNBC and Handelsblatt, the conference at IHK Frankfurt will convene speakers from the U.S. and European governments, international financial institutions and the private sector.

The first panel will convene to discuss the findings of new international trade research, which argues for an ambitious US-EU free trade agreement that combines the best aspects of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) with new approaches being pioneered in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) and US-EU Trade and Technology Council (TTC).

The conference will also discuss the future of monetary policy around the euro and the dollar. Panelists will discuss the findings of a new report which suggests that the dollar and euro will remain the leading global currencies, but the international monetary system is likely to become more multipolar with the rise of digital currencies and a stronger renminbi.

In the area of central bank digital currencies, panelists will discuss how the US and EU can set international standards on digital assets. New research in this area argues that the US and EU should align the transatlantic technological and regulatory environment to enable the development of safe and privacy-preserving cross-border digital currencies. This panel will be moderated by CNBC reporter Annette Weisbach.

During the economic statecraft panel, participants will discuss new data, which uncovers increasing attempts by international economies to diversify their reserve assets away from dollars in the wake of the G7 sanctions regime on Russia. This panel will be moderated by Frank Wiebe of Handelsblatt.

The conference is on-the-record and open to press coverage both virtually and in-person. More information and a link to register may be found here.

For media inquiries, please contact press@atlanticcouncil.org.